Shades of London: The Madness Underneath

Johnson, Maureen. Shades of London: The Madness Underneath. 2013. 384 p. ISBN 978-0399256615. FIC JOH on the library shelves.

In this second book of the Shades of London series, Aurora, who goes by Rory, is in Bristol. She is slowly recuperating from the stab wound the ghost known as the Ripper dealt her. Her hardest task, however, is therapy. Seeing ghosts but being unable to talk to others about her ability makes conversation difficult. The ghost hunting group engineers her return to London and to her private school. She is reunited with her friends, and finds a strange therapist. With her ability growing, Rory must decide how she fits in the world, and how her newfound ghost vaporizing ability should be used.

Readers not familiar with The Name of the Star, the first book in the series, will find themselves lost at the beginning. Though Johnson provides some background information, the attention is focused on the present and on the character development of Rory and her questioning of the future. The plot is uneven and moves slowly. It is only in the last fifth of the book that the nemesis is revealed, and the ending feels flat, leaving the reader wondering what will happen next but not necessarily looking forward to the next installment.